Small Bump
by Black and White Sirens
Summary: A couple of months after their marriage Tahno and Korra prepare for a new arrival Tahnorra Oneshot I wrote a while back. This one hurt me to write. It has an almost happy ending though?... Inspired while listening "people help the people" by birdy Sirens


Small bump - Tahnorra

Non bending AU set about 6 months after Korra and Tahno's wedding. Inspired by the song People help the People by Birdy. Although the song Small Bump by Ed Sheeran inspired the title. I guess this story doesn't have a particularly happy ending. Listen while reading if you're feeling slightly masochistic ~ Sirens

* * *

Tahno parked the car and leant over the gearbox to kiss Korra on the cheek.  
"You're sure you don't need me in there?" He checked, for what seemed like the thousandth time that morning.  
"Positive," Korra replied shaking her head earnestly, "Besides, _Tahno_ has a meeting with his music executives; it's far too late to cancel."  
"I still could," Tahno smiled, "I'm sorry they could only do today, I mean if it had happened any other morning-"  
"Don't fuss, I'm sure the cramps were nothing, they're probably perfectly normal this far in, I'll tell you everything when you get back. It's just a quick check up to see how we're doing" Korra smiled.

Tahno walked around to the passenger side and opened the door. Taking Korra's hand he gently pulled her up from her seat.  
"I'm not_ that_ far along you know"  
"Practice makes perfect" Tahno responded, lifting her hand to his lips which he pressed lightly onto her wedding ring. "Besides I thought I should practice with minnows before I move onto whales." He clarified with a smirk, earning him a smack the shoulder.  
"And here I was thinking you were being the perfect gentleman." Korra retorted as he lead her up the steps to the doctor's surgery. The young couple paused at the doors. Tahno kissed her lightly on the forehead, then turned to walk back to the car as Korra grabbed his arm.  
"You forgot something," Korra smiled mischievously, closing the gap between them.  
"Really? And what was that?" Tahno asked in a low sultry tone reserved only for her, sending sparks down her spine. Korra blinked, before regaining her composure,  
"Me." She grinned. Wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him firmly on the lips. Tahno chuckled into her mouth as his arms wrapped around the small of her back and pressed her to him. They broke apart and Tahno raised his hand to cup her cheek gently.  
"See you back at home pretty boy." Korra smirked watching her husband walk back to the car.  
"See you soon pretty girl" Tahno replied, walking back towards the car. On the third step he pivoted on his heel and grinned back at her, "See you later too, Korra."

Korra had initially decided on referring to their baby by nothing other than "it" or "the baby" until it was born. The gender was supposed to be a surprise but Tahno had other ideas. He remained convinced that their firstborn would be a girl and insisted on referring to her as such; "Pretty Girl" had been Korra's nickname up to this point but he found himself calling their daughter by it. If she looked anything like her mother 'pretty' was the lowest compliment that he could afford. It had started to rub off on Korra and her accidental slip ups with pronouns amused him to no end. The pregnancy hadn't been a planned, though it wasn't entirely an accident. A couple of months after the wedding it shouldn't have been surprising when Korra had told him. Tahno still had to sit down for a while.

After the initial shock, Tahno was looking forward to being a father. He envisioned his daughter, his dark hair but her mother's eyes and a light copper tan to her skin. He beamed at the thought of holding her for the first time and often it was the thought he used to get him through the day. Three months in he and Korra still hadn't announced it to anyone officially, only their parents knew and Asami had guessed when Korra had gone for a girls' night in and had refused to share the wine. Asami had asked and Korra's inability to control her facial expressions had given the game away.

The meeting had gone well for Tahno, the executives were excited to invest in his hew sound and although the discussion had run well over time it seemed to have reached a positive conclusion. Driving home, he decided on buying Korra some flowers on the way, possibly to get back on her good side for being later back than expected but mostly because he felt she deserved them after last night's fiasco. He stopped to pick out a bouquet of white roses. They usually filled the vase with a mix of water and blue food dye which tinted the petals to Korra's taste.

The previous night had been frightening for the both of them. Korra had woken up at 2am with cramps so bad she thought she was going into a ridiculously early labour. Their panic subsided as the cramps seemed to dissipate after a short while but they had scheduled a doctor's appointment for that morning just in case.

Tahno opened the front door shrugging off his jacket and holding the flowers in front of him as he sauntered into the living room. The silence only catching his attention as an empty sofa and black tv screen came into view.

"Korra?" Tahno called out into the seemingly empty house. Korra was probably napping in their bedroom. He started up the staircase hanging his jacket on the banister. "I brought you something" He smiled entering the room holding the bouquet in front of him.

Korra was sat on the floor at the end of the bed. Her answering smile was barely more than a grimace. Tahno rushed to her side and crouched down beside her.  
"Korra what-"  
Korra shook her head. Tahno's voice wavered, "Korra what's wrong, you're scaring me,"  
Korra's eyes fixed on the floor. Her voice came in a cracked whisper.

"They couldn't find her heartbeat."

Korra had not cried when the doctors had panicked. It was already obvious to her that something was horribly wrong. The staggering intensity of the pains had dealt her breathless the night before could not have been the nothing that she made out. Maybe it was her own wishful thinking that had spurred her blind optimism. Maybe it was the thought of Tahno that had held her together. Either way it was worth nothing to speculate.

She had not cried when the doctors had spoken. When they told her that the pain wasn't normal, wasn't to be expected she had believed them before the words had left their mouths. The unexpected pain that she had felt could never be normal, never expected. When they couldn't find heartbeat she had felt the sting of course. Fires blazed behind her eyes and yet they remained mercilessly dry. The doctors had followed their procedure. She had followed hers. The journey home remained ambiguous. Korra had staggered up the stairs meaning to make it to the bed but before she got to her side, her legs had given out and she had crawled to lean against the end of it. It had been another two hours before Tahno came home.

Tahno crumpled forward onto his knees. His hands shook as they held Korra's face to his own, pressing their foreheads together. His eyes searched hers desperately as if hoping to discover some sort of sick joke. Opening his mouth to speak only forced out a strangled sob he hadn't realised he'd been holding back. Korra's head hung lower and she slumped against Tahno's chest as she crumbled in on herself. He enveloped her; thankful she couldn't see the torture on his features. He occupied himself, counting the seconds until she fell asleep so he could let himself fall apart. He rocked her back and forth, until the room grew dark around them and Korra's sobs grew quiet.

"Tah…no…" Korra whispered. He didn't trust himself to speak. He understood, cradling her in his arms and carrying her to their bed. Korra lay limply against the covers, staring blankly up at the ceiling. Tears tracked down the sides of her face past her temples. Tahno undressed her gently then carefully pulled a nightshirt over her head, her pyjama trousers up over her hips and the covers up to her chest. Tahno turned from Korra and began shrugging off his shirt and trousers which pooled on the floor and robotically pulled on an old T-shirt and slacks, then climbed into bed beside her.

He didn't make it long enough to let Korra fall asleep. As her husband's sobs shook the bedframe, Korra extended a hand to touch his side, Tahno held his breath to quiet himself and curled away from her touch in a feeble attempt to let her sleep. Korra's arms persisted as she turned to him and snaked her hands around his heaving chest. Korra whimpered into his back as the broken silence carried them both to a restless sleep.

It was pitch black when Tahno woke but he could sense Korra's warmth beside him. Her breaths were steady, he focused on that. It only took him a few seconds to remember. Tears brewed silent storms in his eyes as he crawled under the covers. Lifting her shirt, he kissed her navel letting his tears fall against her skin.

Korra opened her eyes in the darkness and her breath hitched in her chest. Her baby fluttered against her abdomen. Just a dream, just a horrible, horrible dream. But something still felt wrong.

"Why'd you go pretty girl…"

It was a dream Tahno! The fluttering came again. "Stop this, just… come back." Tahno choked from under the covers, barely even a whisper. "I love you. Why did you have to-"

Korra's eyes flooded with tears; her slowly fading unconsciousness had delivered a second blow. The fluttering was coming from the outside. Tahno littered kisses against her stomach again whilst Korra bit her tongue and feigned sleep. Tahno's pleas grew silent and he climbed from under the duvet. Clutching Korra to himself he drifted to sleep. Korra could not.

Two hours later, Tahno awoke with a start. A guttural scream rang through the house. The bed next to him was empty and cold.  
"Korra!" Tahno yelled, scrambling out of bed. The sound stopped to be replaced by dull rhythmic thumps.  
"KORRA!" Tahno panicked darting down the hallway stepping on the abandoned roses by the door in his urgency. The scream sounded again to his left. The nursery. Tahno's feet propelled him through the door to the pale yellow room. He palmed the wall frantically looking for the switch. The lights turned on.

Korra's form slouched against the wall by the cot, one leg extended in front of her. The back of her head dipped back again and again, colliding painfully with the wall in a series of thuds.  
Korra, no, no, no, no, stop- please- stop!" Tahno spoke softly, collapsing in front of her and placing his hand between her head and the wall behind.

"This was my fault" She whispered. Her face, horrified, stared coldly ahead of her. "It was me this was my fault."  
"Korra liste-"  
"THIS. ALL OF THIS WAS MY FAULT" she screamed, snapping around to face him "SHE'S GONE. HER HEART STOPPED AND IT'S MY FAULT TAHNO."  
"Korra none of this-"  
"OF COURSE _YOU'D_ SAY THAT TO ME, _YOU WEREN'T CARRYING HER_. YOU HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT, IT WAS _MY _BODY THAT HELD HER ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS SIT BACK AND WATC-"

"KORRA, LISTEN TO ME!" Tahno roared, taking Korra by surprise. One hand forced her shoulders against the wall the other lifting Korra's head by the chin to look her in the eye. "She did _not_ leave because of you, I don't know what happened, I don't know for what _godforsaken purpose our child passed_, but _please_ believe me Korra… you have to know that none of this… none of this is anyone's fault."

Korra's erratic breathing slowed, eventually she clutched Tahno to her.  
"I just… I _really_ wanted…" she whispered, looking up at the ceiling as her eyes brimmed, "I mean I already loved her so much… I don't know how-"  
"I loved her too," He whispered into her neck. "Korra, I love you, I love you so much, you are so strong and I am so, so sorry." He leant towards her and kissed her forehead and along the bridge of her nose. Korra's eyes became fixed on him as he kissed tears away from her damp cheekbones and stroked the tender bruise forming at the back of her head. His hands shook as they tangled in her hair. "You think we can get through this?" Tahno whispered, letting Korra pull herself away from his embrace so she could look him in the eye. Her hand cupped his cheek and her thumb wiped the tears from his cheeks.

"Together."

The couple came out of the room hands intertwined. Korra pulled the door shut behind them and turned the key in the lock. For six months it remained that way. Of course there were midnights when both wanted to unlock the door and open the floodgates, but instead they settled for each other. At night they would fall asleep hands laced together and each morning they would rise the same way.

The room remained locked until 4 months later. Korra was late.

* * *

**Author's Notes: This I came up with whilst listening to "People help the people" by Birdy. I'm not sure why I came up with this godforsaken idea. I literally despise myself for writing it and I was pretty shaken by the context so the writing is slightly sub par. The name of this piece was originally "A locked room" but the title "Small bump" comes from the Ed Sheeran song by the same name. And its one of the saddest songs I can fit here. AGH WHY.**

**Reviews are love guys! It'd be great if you'd send me your thoughts :)**

**I usually write with a dedication and this time is no different. So, this to my mother and father, for being so strong. To my brother for simply existing, I love you to pieces. And finally to the little sister I never met. You would have been ten this year 3 ~ Sirens xx**


End file.
